


Kakashi-sensei's Tardiness: Searching Underneath the Underneath

by DrProfessor756



Category: Bleach, Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 14:38:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7319176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrProfessor756/pseuds/DrProfessor756
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The members of team 7 are fed up with Kakashi's perpetual lateness and set off on a mission to find out what's really making him late. Along the way they come across the infamous black cat they've heard so much about only to find out that there's more than meets the eye when it comes to this particular feline.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kakashi-sensei's Tardiness: Searching Underneath the Underneath

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by Kakashi's infamous black cat excuse.

"How long is Kakashi-sensei going to keep us waiting, I'm so bored" Naruto whined, his frantic pacing and obnoxious complaints getting on the nerves of his two teammates.

"Naruto, I'm sure Kakashi sensei has a reasonable explanation as to why he's late." Sakura responded, her calm façade a total misrepresentation of her own thoughts. Cha, If sensei comes up with another one of his lame excuses we're gonna pulverize him. "Just shut up and stay still Naruto, he'll show up eventually, he always does."

"But Sakura, I can't be the only one getting impatient, besides how am I ever gonna become hokage spending half the day waiting for our Kakashi-sensei to show up. You're on my side, aren't you Sasuke?

"Hn, a dobe like you doesn't have a chance of becoming Hokage." If I keep spending my training time waiting for Kakashi I'll never become strong enough to surpass Itachi.

"What did you say Sasuke teme?" Before Sakura's fist could make contact with Naruto's head a poof of smoke appeared in the middle of the training ground, a familiar masked shinobi appearing before the three.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted his students with his trademark eye crinkle and two fingered salute. And cue the standard response in 3….2….1….

"You're late!" Well at least Naruto and Sakura appear to have teamwork somewhat figured out, now if I could only get Sasuke to join them.

"Sorry about that, a black cat crossed my path and I ended up taking the long way."

"Liar!" came the dual response from Naruto and Sakura.

"Well, let's get started, shall we?" Kakashi ordered.

As the sun began to set, the three genin were lying in various parts of the training field, all three of them in various levels of fatigue both mental and physical. Perched on a tree branch, a familiar orange book in hand, he looked towards his three students. "Well, I suppose that's enough training for today, get some rest and I will see you guys tomorrow, 9am sharp." With that said Kakashi shushined away, leaving his three genin to seethe in their anger.

"Maybe he should follow his own instructions and be here on time for once. At least then we won't have to cram a day's worth of training into the half day he spends training us." Sakura whined.

"Well I'm not gonna stand around and let this happen, we gotta do something about Kakashi-sensei. If we all work together I know we can get him to be on time, believe it!" encouraged Naruto.

"Yeah, because that worked out so well the last time we got together against Kakashi-sensei. Remember when we tried to see what he was hiding under his mask?" Sakura replied feigning disinterest in Naruto's foolish endeavor. Cha, whatever it takes, let's start by burning those stupid books he loves so much.

"First thing we have to do is find out what's really keeping him from arriving on time, he doesn't strike me as the type to sleep in. Once we figure that out we move on from there." Sasuke stated, much to the shock of both his teammates. I'll never become strong enough wasting my time waiting for Kakashi to show up whenever he pleases. For once the dobe is right, something must be done. "Let's meet up tomorrow morning at 8, by the memorial stone. He's sure to be there from what we learned about him before."

"Great idea Sasuke-kun, we'll fix Kakashi-sensei for sure" Sakura praised, much to Naruto's dismay.

"Hey, I came up with the idea first, so I deserve the credit" but Naruto's objections fell on death ears, as both his teammates were already returning to their homes, anxious to solve another mystery surrounding the elusive copy ninja.

The Following Morning

All three genin arrived at the memorial site, hidden amongst the foliage, their eyes glued to the silver haired jonin standing in front of the memorial stone.

"I don't get it, it's been almost an hour and he has even moved a muscle" Naruto whispered. "What the hell is he up to?"

"Naruto, he's obviously paying his respects to those killed in action, he's probably lost someone close to him." Sakura replied, memories of their first training day still fresh in her mind.

"Quiet you two, looks like he's moving" Sasuke ordered. "Think you two can manage to be discreet this time around?" Memories of the previous failures in follow their sensei still haunting him.

"Of course, discreet is what I do best." Naruto yelled, fist in the air, oblivious to the irony of his current actions. His teammates sweat dropped, amazed at how dense Naruto was capable of being.

And so the three genin followed their sensei as he made his way through the village, orange book in hand. Much to their surprise, it appeared as if he was indeed heading towards the training ground, with some ten minutes to spare.

"Maybe he's on to us" Sakura observed. "If he gets there and we aren't at the training grounds he'll kill us for sure."

"I knew the dobe was going to give us away, now we're all going to suffer because of your lack of skill" Sasuke accused. Before Naruto could retaliate, Kakashi had suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Slightly ahead of him was a black cat with golden eyes, its stare fixated on the masked shinobi.

"Well what da ya know, looks like Kakashi-sensei been telling the truth after all" Naruto stated. "Guess we kinda owe sensei an apology, he wasn't completely lying."

But instead of altering his course away from the feline, the copy ninja proceeded to follow the cat as it made its way through the village, with his three students following the scene from a safe distance. Eventually the cat skillfully climbed the jonin's body, resting atop his shoulder, purring in satisfaction as he continued his stroll through the village. After walking a few more steps, the silver haired shinobi and his furry friend vanished in thin air, leaving the voyeur students utterly bewildered by the strange turn of events.

"Strange, I never thought sensei was a cat person" Sakura commented.

"There has to be more to that cat than meets the eye" Sasuke added. I can't imagine a world famous ninja like Kakashi having a soft spot for your average everyday street cat. He's always going on about looking underneath the underneath.

"That's right, and we'll get to the bottom of this no matter what, believe it" Naruto encouraged, egging on his teammates to continue their task. "For all we know, Kakashi-sensei could be a spy for another village, and the cat is how he communicates to the enemy village. Or maybe it's an evil ninja cat, and it uses a mind control jutsu to control Kakashi-sensei, the first step in its plot to world domination. Or what if…"

Naruto's rambling was cut short by a well-placed fist from team 7's short fused kunoichi. "Naruto you big dummy, stop trying to scare me."

"But Sakura, all I'm saying is that with Kakashi-sensei anything could be possible." Naruto countered battered and bloodied from Sakura's attack.

"Hn, either way we should start investigating the cat. It's bound to lead to some answers" Sasuke concluded. "Let's head back to the training grounds, we can continue our search after training."

After Training

"Well, that should be it for today, you've done well, take the day off tomorrow to recuperate." A grinning Kakashi announced to his three exhausted genin as he headed back towards the village. Unbeknownst to the copy ninja, his students were planning their next plan of attack concerning his feline friend.

"Alright, let's find us that furball" Naruto exclaimed. Jumping to his feet, eagerness to achieve his objective oozing off him, he set out for the village.

"Sorry guys, it's getting kind of late so I won't be able to help you guys look for it until tomorrow" Sakura apologized, as she made her way off the training grounds.

"Bye Sakura-chan and don't worry, by tomorrow me and Sasuke will already have this mystery all figured out, believe it!"

"Dobe, do you even know where to begin to look?" Sasuke interrupted, slightly annoyed at his teammate's boastful proclamation.

"Well, it's just a stupid cat, how hard can it be to find? Besides, we've done plenty of missions looking for that other stupid cat, Tora." Naruto countered, his motivation not faltering in the least. "I'll just use my shadow clones to search the entire village, I'll let you know when I've found it." Suddenly a multitude of clones appeared, each sharing the same cocky expression of the original. "You know what to do, now scatter!"

Within the hour Naruto had found the target just outside of the women's hot springs, lounging atop the fence prohibiting any unwanted eyes from looking in. "Okay, so we found it, now what do we do Sasuke?"

"We wait and keep a close eye on it" Sasuke answered. For all we know it's just an ordinary cat and Kakashi is just playing a game on us. With his twisted sense of humor I wouldn't put it past him.

Suddenly the cat stretched its legs and hopped over the fence and into the hot springs. "Just great, now what do we do, I'm not risking getting caught peeping into the women's hot springs." Naruto complained, when his answer came to him, music to his ears, more like a certain perverted giggle.

"Pervy sage, we need your help." Naruto addressed the sanin, Sasuke by his side attempting to look uninterested.

"Ah, so you finally decided to help assist me in my research, but I've gotta say I'm surprised you're here too" Jiraya responded, referring to the Uchiha's presence.

"Research, more like peeping on women you old pervert. Anyways, while your conducting your 'research' could you tell us if you see a black cat in there" Naruto asked.

"A cat, why would I bother with that when there are much more pleasant specimens I could be enjoying" Jiraya answered, his focus fixated on his telescope when suddenly the said creature came into his view. "Yeah, your dumb cat is in there alright, what so special about it anyway?" Jiraya asked as he faced Naruto, curious as to why it captured his interest.

"Something weird is going on with that cat, Kakashi-sensei sure seems fond of it though. He doesn't let it out of his sight. He even lets it lounge on his shoulder, rubbing up against his face" Naruto answered.

Turning his attention back towards his telescope, Jiraya found himself staring straight into the golden eyes of the feline. Ha, looks like that cat is the closest Kakashi is ever going to get to some pus…. His thoughts were interrupted when the cat suddenly transformed itself into a beautiful woman. Purple hair, tan skin, eyes that shined like gold, and to top it all off she appeared before him in all her naked glory, a smirk gracing her face. His heart had temporary given out, the extreme blood loss through his nose the most likely cause. All the blood and commotion alerted the rest of the women of their unwanted guests, forcing the pair of genin to abandon their mission for the time being.

A few days after the hot springs incident

The three genin found themselves in a familiar position at the training grounds, waiting for their aloof sensei hours past the schedule meeting time. Frustrating didn't even begin to describe the past few days for the trio, as attempt after attempt to discover something about the infamous copy ninja through the cat failed. Naruto noted that the cat was every bit as elusive as Kakashi himself, it not more so. At one point, as their desperation grew, the strategy changed from following its day to day activity to a straight up capture of the shifty feline. The results were as painful physically as they were frustrating, never managing to close enough to the creature. It was quite literally a game of cat and mouse, three genin in place of the mouse.

"I give up" Sakura sighed, falling to the ground with a look of total exhaustion at the trouble a seemingly simple creature had given them. "This is even worse than when we tried to look under sensei's mask."

"Hn" Sasuke grunted out, his attempt at appearing cool and stoic floundering as his true feelings on the events of the past few days began to take a toll on him.

"Tell me about it, and the worst part is now I've got pervy sage bugging me all the time about that damn cat. Talking about it being perfect for a new series he wants to start writing." Naruto complained. His once high levels of motivation and excitement on the subject squashed. Realizing this was the norm when dealing with their infamous sensei, Kakashi Hatake.

"Yo" came the greeting from the masked shinobi, eye crinkle in tow. "Sorry I'm late, a black cat crossed my path, and you know the rest. I swear it must the same cat, must be stalking me. And cue their enraged response in 3….2….1…. When the familiar accusation never came, Kakashi immediately noticed the varying looks of exhaustion plastered on the faces of his young students. "You three don't look so good, I haven't been pushing you guys that hard, have I?"

Gathering up all the courage she could muster, Sakura responded, avoiding direct eye contact with Kakashi. "Of course not sensei, just a little tired from walking the road of life." Cha, I can dish out the lame excuses as good as you. How's it feel sensei?

"Ah, I know exactly what you mean" he responded. Note to self: these three are definitely hiding something. The real question is should I be concerned… no to troublesome. "Alright then, let's continue our training." Pulling out his familiar orange book, he began to instruct the three genin on the day's training regime as was the norm when a black streak interrupted him. Perched atop a tree branch was the cause of team 7's pain and frustration, now including the copy ninja himself, seeing his precious book in the feline's clutches.

"Hey, it's that stupid cat again!" Naruto screamed standing fast and alert, his teammates mirroring his actions.

"Again, am I to assume you've already met before" Kakashi questioned, maintaining his laid back posture, face portraying no emotion after the initial shock of being forcibly removed from his romance novel.

Before his students could respond, a deep male voice answered from above, amusement evident in its voice. "Oh yes, we've met already and may I say that teasing them is even more entertaining than you described. I think I've teased them more than enough if their looks are anything to go by, maybe now we can properly be introduced.

Scratching the back of his head, the jonin addressed the three genin, surprise written all across their faces. "Right, guys this is Yoruichi… a friend of mine." Turning his attention back towards the cat with his hand outstretched he asked, "Now if you would be so kind as to return my novel."

"Of course… friend" the cat tossed him the book, its tone losing all of its amusement and sounding ticked off. "It's going to be your only 'friend' from now on you jerk. Six months, six months and he still refuses to go public" it muttered as it made its way from the area.

"Wait, kitten you know what I mean, let's not make a scene." Kakashi pleaded, chasing the feline out into the forest, prized novel forgotten on the ground.

"Can somebody please explain to me what the hell that was all about" Naruto asked with a confused expression on his face. Turning to his teammates, who appeared equally bewildered with the way their sensei was acting, he addressed them once more. "Looks like we're gonna have to get to the bottom of this, and we won't give up until we have some answers. Belie-"

Before he could finish his proclamation, a powerful fist connected with his head, leaving him in a Naruto shaped crater in the ground. "You idiot, haven't you learned anything these past few days. Somethings are better left unanswered." She interrupted, trying to stop any crazy theories from forming in her head based on recent events. "And I'd rather he doesn't explain why he's late all the time, as long as he gets here eventually, he can keep his personal life to himself."

"Hn." Came the grunt of approval to the statement from the stoic Uchiha.

"Alright already, need to get so violent Sakura-chan." Naruto responded, nursing a sizeable bump on top of his head. "I'm just saying, for all we know that's really his girlfriend and she just happens to be some sorta were-cat, like from another universe or something."

"You dobe, that's even worse than the cat world domination idea" Sasuke muttered, hands in his pockets as he made his way out of the training field. I'm surrounded by a bunch of morons.

"You're so right Sasuke-kun, that's the stupidest theory you've come up with so far Naruto. And that's saying something, you've said a lot of idiotic stuff." Sakura said, rushing off to join Sasuke.

"Heh, guess you're right that does sound pretty silly." Naruto admitted, joining his teammates as they made their way out of the field. "I know, let's forget about this whole thing over a nice bowl of Ichiraku ramen."


End file.
